"In Flanders Fields" by Dr John McCrae (first verse)
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are going to commemorate Remembrance Day with the children, and have lots of activities planned, including craft activities such as making a poppy pinwheel for the children to take and wave should they go on a parade on Remembrance Sunday. The children will also be learning about what Remembrance Day is and why we wear poppies. We will watch a video from CBeebies about Remembrance Day. The Last Post will be played to them, and the above poem and a story will also be read.
Remembrance Day is an important, emotional, and historical occasion which is always held to commemorate the end of the First World War which ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Every year, many people wear red poppies, and the nation will usually observe a two-minute silence at 11am on that day. Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday every November. Many parades and church services take place around the country and throughout the Commonwealth, where poppies and wreaths are laid on war memorials to pay respect and in remembrance for those who fought for their country, for the courage and bravery shown, for those who died for our freedom and to celebrate and appreciate the importance of peace and unity.
The First World War ended in 1918, at 11am on 11th November, when the peace agreement was signed. This agreement is known as the Armistice Agreement. Remembrance Day used to be known as Armistice Day until after the Second World War when it changed to Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day now encompasses all those that have fought and served in the services in the past to the present day.
The first ever Remembrance Day was in 1919 by the request of King George V to honour those in the First World War, which lasted from 1914-1918. King George V was also the person who initiated the two-minute silence by asking the nation to stay quiet to concentrate our thoughts on those who’ve died.
The reason the red poppy was adopted as the symbol of remembrance in conflict is due to a poem written by Dr John McCrae, who was a Canadian Doctor during the First World War, and was based in the Flanders area of Belgium, where lots of important battles were fought. In 1915 a close friend of his was killed and riding back in an ambulance the next day after he’d performed the memorial service of his friend, John McCrae wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields.” His inspiration was seeing the poppies growing in the battle-scarred fields and around the graves. It only took him 20 minutes to write this poem, which he then threw away. A fellow soldier rescued the poem, and it was published in the Punch magazine on the 8th December 1915. John McCrae died in January 1918. In 1921 inspired by this poem, two women produced and promoted the red poppies and The Royal British Legion sold 9 million silk poppies that raised money to help all those that fought in the war and their families. In today’s money the equivalent raised that year was 30 million pounds.
The significance of The Last Post played on the bugle is that it symbolises that the duty of the dead soldier is over and that they can rest in peace. It was also played at the end of a day of battle, to alert the wounded that fighting was over for the day, and they could return safely to camp.
Should you wish to watch with your child, on CBeebies there is a small clip called “Poppies” looking at war from an animal’s perspective. Also, if anyone has anything interesting with regards to Remembrance Day that your child could bring in for a show and tell that would be amazing.
Comments